Think Tank

EARTH AND STEVE JOBS LEGACY TO THIS PLANET !

October marks the fifth year of his passing !

Ever since we shifted to the bay area, Cupertino held a special place in my heart. It was not the Apple fever – I had known about the life of Steve Jobs for more than two decades. His life story was nothing short of a booster flu shot for any entrepreneur! On his fifth anniversary this year could not help but pen this down: –

Steve Jobs talks about “the crazy ones; the misfits; the rebels; the troublemakers; the round pegs in the square holes; the ones who see things differently.”

They’re not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them disagree with them; glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

Indeed, starting with Jobs himself, the “crazy ones” have changedthe world. But they’ve changed us, too. He and others have changed the way we see ourselves as citizens of the world. It isthis last aspect — the way technology helps us understand what we are able to do in this vast world around us — that is Steve Jobs’most important legacy.

Technology has given the crazy ones a platform for change, but it couldn’t have done so had it required them to be less crazy, less misfit, less rebellious. There is a reason the innovators of yesterday, today, and tomorrow are able to do what they do.

They see the world differently — much has been made over the years about Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field”. But as Jobs’ biographer, Walter Isaacson, and others have noted, this aspect to Jobs has perhaps been instrumental in his ability to achieve the success he’s had.

Jobs was a creative genius, to be sure. It’s arguable whether it is possible to become a “crazy one”; that is, whether viewing the world the way visionaries do can be learned. But Jobs was also monomaniacal in focussing on realizing his vision — whatever it happened to be at that moment. He had a – singularity of focus that those of us wanting to leave an impact might study and train ourselves to emulate.

In 2005, Jobs delivered the commencement speech at Stanford University. He mentioned The Whole Earth Catalog, which he called “one of the bibles of my generation.”

This was in the late 1960’s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, overflowing with neat tools, and great notions.In the mid-1970’s The Whole Earth Catalog ceased publication.Jobs mentioned it as an inspiration for all out there who want to change the world. As he recalled in his speech, on the back cover of their final issue was a photo of an early morning country road, “the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so dventurous.” Beneath it the words:

Dreams that see the most beautiful realization, are never about a billion dollar valuation; they are always about a billion dollar value system. At the heart of any success story are four pillars, structure, systems, strategy and process. It is always a visionary and a entrepreneur’s ability to use these four pillars in setting up a timeless success story . The structure is important because it lends stability to the start up. A system, at the same time, plays a very important role to provide the discipline and four walls of a primary task, strategy adds the most important angle of speedy innovation that any start up needs for scaling up and processes glue all of the above in a form that there is harmony and integrity when all the pillars co-exist.

Being what you are, believing inwhat you can do, with the hope that it will all be given up for a good cause were the fundamental emotions that I used to bank on when I started this journey and hold on to these till date, just as close.

There has always been a difference between where I wanted to be, how I wanted to be and what happened to it after I was long gone. During the course of my journey as an entrepreneur, I mentored many bright and smart young people which went on to lay the foundations of a very strong team who were very clear from the beginning about why they were a team and what was the difference between their mission, vision and primary task. They also knew that targets, vision, change with time, change with achievements, change with changes that come along the road but the primary task of the mentor and his team always remains the same and that is how we were wedded as a team to ensure that our existence was because our primary task and which came about to be known as – “SMILE with SCIENCE”.

Rolling out the above was crazy , but as Steve Jobs said: “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits, the rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them, because they change things. They push the human race forward,and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

At SRISOL, our existence has been synonymous with novel innovations, cost effective manufacturing, environment friendly products - all in organic fields. Since its inception in 1997, the group has structured itself logically and uniquely to have both Thermoplastic and Thermosetting polymers expertise under one roof. The company has been able to diversify in - Coil Coatings, Food Coatings, Lining and Sealing Systems, Phase Change Polymers and other Speciality Chemicals.

With a CAGR of 35% per year for the last 05 Years, 800 employees, in 6 manufacturing locations spread in three continents globally, SRISOL (Shubh Gautam) is a diversified specialty chemical entity, which combines the power of science and technology to provide products, which contribute to human progress. Today we deliver a broad portfolio of products and services to customers in 45 countries to shadow brands like Coca Cola, Pepsico, Nestle, TATA, Arcelor, LG , Samsung ,Carlsberg,Fosters,Delmonte, Nampaq etc etc..

When you are young, Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. One should neverallow one to be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. A entrepreneur already know’s what they truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. This is what is a true entrepreneurial spirit that I nurtured in quest for being a crazy black sheep in the family who wanted to go out and change his world through manufacturing of speciality chemicals after chucking away his well paid job with fortune 50 brands.

This journey has not been one without many storms that came in the way, and it is these storms that teach you a lot. And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.

Competing and Beating fortune 50 companies via manufacturing of products was not a easy ride if we did not believe in being hungry and foolish – As we discovered later this was also a fundamental success mantra’s of the master Steve Jobs as we connect the dots . The Whole Earth Catalogue was a popular publication started by Stewart Brand in Menlo Park in Silicon Valley in 1940s. Its poetic pinch made it a bible for kids growing up in the valley in 1950’s and 1960’s. The last publication of the The Whole Earth Catalog, was in the mid- 1970s. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry & Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself.” This was the legends inspiration and this has been the group’s inspiration so far– From the brand whose motto is “SMILE WITH SCIENCE”

OIL Picture - CTA Perspective.

High oil prices gave the oil industry several bad habits, including runaway spending, poor planning, and engineering mistakes. Now that oil prices have declined, the industry needs to change its ways, quickly.

Energy companies will need to do more than just cut costs and renegotiate service contracts to remain afloat at $40 a barrel oil—they need to quit being so darn sloppy.

A decade of strong oil prices made Big Oil rich and fat, which has led to waste across the industry. This not only translated into runaway spending at the corporate level—including everything from executive jets to overly-generous pay packages—it also led to poor planning and greater engineering mistakes on the field. The energy companies could hide their bungling when oil was at $100 a barrel, but with prices where they are today, there is nowhere to hide.

This week saw the first earnings reports from energy companies since oil prices collapsed. As expected, Big Oil didn’t fare well in the fourth quarter of 2014. Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips COP 4.02% both reported a 57% drop in earnings compared with the same time last year, when oil prices were much higher. Chevron CVX 3.01% , which reported its earnings on Friday morning, announced a 30% decrease in net income during the quarter. Its strong chemical earnings helped offset the decline in oil. ExxonMobil XOM 2.16% , which will report on Monday, isn’t expected to fare much better.

Pretty much all the oil companies announced cuts to their 2015 capital plans to adjust to lower oil prices. Shell said it would defer or cancel about 40 projects worldwide, knocking about $15 billion off their capital spending plan over the next three years. ConocoPhillips announced cuts of around $2 billion for its 2015 spending plan, which is on top of the $2.5 billion in cuts the company announced last year, equating to a 30% decrease in overall projected spending to $11.5 billion. Meanwhile, Chevron announced Friday morning it would cut capital spending for the year by 13% to $35 billion.

Cutting costs makes sense given the rapid drop in oil prices, but how this drop will affect these companies’ operations will depend on several factors. For example, it doesn’t (or shouldn’t) translate to simply cutting projects, as Shell outlined. Instead, it should also reflect the cost savings all of Big Oil should reap after renegotiating oilfield service contracts with drilling partners, such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes. These contractors, which basically do Big Oil’s dirty work, like physically drilling and maintaining oil wells, still have agreements with Big Oil based on $100 oil, not $40. Big Oil will renegotiate those contracts to reflect the realities of today’s market, with giants like ExxonMobil squeezing the hardest.

So far, project managers at major oil firms tell Fortune that while prices for some services, such as rentals for offshore drilling rigs, have fallen significantly in the last few months, overall service costs are down by only 10% to 15% from when oil was in the triple digits. It is safe to assume that those rates will fall rapidly in the next few months, probably not as much as the nearly 60% drop in oil prices from last summer, but far more than what we have seen so far. Much of the “cuts” in Big Oil’s capital plans will come from these savings, not by canceling projects or boosting efficiency. All these cuts won’t equal a commensurate decline in oil production, but they disregard a major issue in the oil complex—waste.

While exploration and production costs have become more complicated over the years, as geologies have deteriorated and competition for choice plays and for talent has surged, the industry is still spending more than it should to pull oil out of the ground. Credit Suisse analysts calculate that legitimate production complications have added only 40% to 50% to the overall cost of oil production in the last 15 years. But during that time, real production costs have tripled.

What accounts for the discrepancy? Waste.

Exxon and the rest of the oil majors can only blame the cost overruns on their service contractors so much. For the rest of the cost increases, they need to look within their own ranks. For the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the energy industry, this might seem shocking given their normally conservative nature.

Let’s focus on capital budgeting, as that is where the major oil companies seem so keen on cutting. IPA, a consultancy specializing in capital projects, analyzed over 1,400 energy projects led by a mix of 50 energy producers and found that the industry has some explaining to do. They calculated that the industry had “destroyed value versus initial expectations on 75% of all projects completed in the last decade” and that the total value lost, relative to what was initially assumed by the brilliant bean counters at headquarters, came in at a whopping 35%. Either the executives and engineers at the Big Oil companies can’t build a financial or production model to save their lives or there is a lot of waste in the system that needs to be addressed. It is probably a little bit of both.

A model is only as good as the data that’s in it. The production data comes from engineers, many of whom have decades of experience and some who have just graduated. Ed Merrow, who heads IPA, writes in his recent book that the industry is making poor decisions when funding new projects. Credit Suisse analysts say that this is “predominately a human process failure.”

But the biggest, and probably most disturbing, example of waste in the industry has to be engineering mistakes. Merrow says that engineering errors in the industry have “doubled in recent years,” wiping out billions of dollars in profits. The errors associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 have cost BP $42 billion so far. And the pain continues. A judge ruled this month that the company may be on the hook for another $13 billion in fines on top of that amount.

Deepwater Horizon is an extreme example of a problem that should have been stamped out years ago. Advances in technology and all the extra money spent on new equipment and engineering talent should have reduced mistakes and accidents in the industry, not increased them. While oil production has admittedly become more complicated over the years, such as ultra-deep water drilling, it isn’t rocket science. The same engineering and safety principals that apply to ultra-deep water drilling apply to more commonly drilled shallow-water wells. We know the industry can mitigate errors if it wants to. How many super tanker spills has Exxon had following the disastrous Alaska Valdez incident back in 1989? Zero.

In addition to becoming mistake-prone, the industry has also run up costs due to a combination of unnecessary spending and conspicuous consumption. While Wall Street analysts and associates now sit in coach, energy employees all too often ride in first class, if they even fly commercial to begin with. Private plane use by energy companies is ubiquitous, not just for C-suite employees, but also for their subordinates. This makes sense when oil fields are located in the middle of nowhere, like western North Dakota or southern Chad, but it doesn’t pass muster when, say, flyingbetween Moscow and Paris.

Travel is just one example of waste in the industry. Corporate structures also need to be reformed and relocated. Why do Chevron and Exxon maintain their respective headquarters in the expensive suburbs of San Francisco and Dallas when pretty much all their important operations and project managers are in Houston? It’s time to move. After all, Exxon just spent what must have been an ungodly chunk of change to build a brand new 385-acre operations center in the northern suburbs of Houston. The 20-building oil city will house some 10,000 employees when construction ends sometime this year.

At the center, there will be a 10,000-ton floating cube that appears to hover over one of the many plazas below. The campus will also have a 100,000-square-foot “Wellness Center” featuring a three-story glass atrium, cardio and strength training facilities and classes, a basketball court, personal training services, and healthy dining venues. It will also offer a “child development center” for children ages six weeks through pre-kindergarten, so all the moms and dads can save a trip to daycare.

Such extravagance is out of character for Exxon—or at least it used to be. Exxon’s efficiency is legendary, but all this spending, combined with lousy acquisitions, such as the $41 billion deal to buy XTO in 2009, has cost them that crown. Indeed, the company’s return on capital employed (ROACE), peaked in 2008 at 33% and has fallen ever since. In the last five years, Exxon’s ROACE has declined to 20%. Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst at Oppenheimer, estimates that if crude prices remain weak, Exxon’s ROACE could decline below 10% for the first time in over a decade. This could force the company to slash or suspend its generous share repurchase program. The same goes for its legendary dividend.

Exxon isn’t alone. All the major oil companies have wasted money in some form or another during the boom. But now is the time to correct those mistakes. Energy companies should be more discriminating in evaluating new prospects and they should cut down on the extravagant spending. Those that move quickly to address these issues will be the ones who come out of this oil slump in the best shape.

Disclaimer:

The views and opinion expressed in this article are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect any officlal policy/decision of any regulatory authority/corporate. The data has been sourced from secondary sources and presented in a collated manner that suit the personal view of the author on the subject. The idea is to discuss about the industry as a holistic entity, citing names of some corporates is only to randomly pick the names and data that have been analysed on secondary sources.

Navratra is the time when wheat flour is omitted from the diet and substituted it with buckwheat flour or kuttu ka aata. Buckwheat is not a cereal grain; it is a fruit and hence is a good substitute for Navratra fasts where cereals are prohibited.The flour is extremely high in protein and is a wonderful substitute for those who are allergic to gluten (found in wheat).It is good for patients with celiac disease as it is gluten–free.It contains phytonutrient rutin, which lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.It is rich in magnesium, vitamin B, iron, calcium, folate, zinc, copper, manganese and phosphorus.As the buckwheat hulls are hard to chew, traditionally they are soaked for about six hours and then cooked to make them softer and easily digestible.It also contains alpha–linolenic acid, which increases HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) and controls LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol).It is a good source of insoluble fiber and prevents occurrences of gallbladder stones. According to the American Journal of Gastroenterology, a 5% increase in the insoluble fiber intake results in a 10% reduced risk of gall–bladder stones.Kuttu is 75% of complex carbohydrates and 25% of high quality protein, which makes it an ideal food for weight loss.As the flour is gluten–free, a potato is used to bind the flour together.The flour tastes different.Pooris made from kuttu flour are crunchier than the normal wheat flour pooris.One should not make pooris with hydrogenated oils or vanaspati as it will take away all the medical benefits of buckwheat flour.Buckwheat flour however is subjected to adulteration.Mixtures of rye flour, Indian corn flour, wheat flour, and other ground cereals are often used as a substitute for buckwheat.Being high in fiber and low glycemic index it is good substitute for diabetic patients. The glycemic index for buck wheat is 47 (Low GI foods have a GI value less than 55; medium GI foods have a GI value between 55 and 69 and high GI foods have GI value greater than 70).The chiro-inositol present in buckwheat has been identified as the diabetes preventing component.Asthma symptoms can occur in sensitized children when food allergens such as buckwheat are cooked in a confined area. Both acute and late–phase respiratory symptoms are seen.Eat kuttu ki roti instead of poori or pakodas (fried items) made from kuttu atta (buckwheat flour).One can also prepare idlis from kuttu atta (buckwheat flour) and dosa from the samak rice (non grain seed)Food poisoning may occur if flour left over from the previous year is reused.

Singhara flour – a favorite Navratre diet

During Navratra fasts, wheat flour should be omitted from diet and be substituted with water chestnut (Singhara) or buckwheat (kuttu) flour, said Padma Shri & Dr. BC Roy National Awardee, Dr. KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India & National Vice President Elect IMA. Singhara is not a cereal but a fruit and hence a good substitute for a Navratra fast where cereals are not to be eaten.Singhara flour is prepared from Singhara or Water Chestnut.Singharas are floating aquatic plants, growing in slow–moving water up to 5 meters deep. The plant bears ornately shaped fruits containing a single very large starchy seed.The seeds or nuts are boiled and sold as snacks or eaten raw.The flour is made from dried, ground water chestnuts. The nuts are boiled, peeled, dried then ground into flour. The flour is bright white fine powder; it is actually a starch rather than flour.The flour is primarily used as a thickener.The flour is used as food in Navratra and consumed as phalahar (fruit) diet.It is an excellent source of energy and provides 115 kcals per 100g.The glycemic index for chestnut is 60. Low GI foods have a GI value less than 55; medium GI foods have a GI value between 55 and 69 and high GI foods have GI value greater than 70.Chestnuts are relatively low in net carbs (total carbohydrate minus dietary fiber) and so are included in many low carb diets.Being a gluten–free product, chestnut flour is a cooking option for people with celiac disease or other gluten intolerances or allergies.Chestnuts do not contain the fat that regular nuts have.It contains less carbohydrate than white flour.People with tree nut allergies should avoid chestnut flour as it may cause an allergic reaction.Flour made from chestnuts is typically more difficult to locate in many areas as well as more expensive than white flour.Avoid eating deep fried chestnut flour pooris or paranthas.Do not use trans fats containing vegetables oils to cook bread from chestnut flour.Buy only branded flour as flour left over from the previous year can lead to food poisoning.As per Ayurveda, chestnut flour has cool and buckwheat flour has hot properties.Both chestnut flour and buckwheat flours can be combined.One should eat phalahar once a week and at least 80 days in a year.

Uttarayana and Dakshinayana are not only time periods mentioned in the Vedic literature but also the state of minds. Uttarayana means a period for a positive state of mind and Dakshinayana, a period of a relatively negative state of mind. A positive state of mind in Uttarayana makes meditation easier and more fruitful during this period. Beginners should learn the process of meditation and pranayama during this period.

Bhagwad Gita talks about Moksha and liberation. Those who believe in the philosophy of rebirth know that once a soul is liberated at death, a person is not reborn. For others who believe that hell and heaven are in this birth only, liberation means dying peacefully and without any suffering.

The theory of rebirth is well described in Bhagwad Gita in Chapter 8. The gist of Lord Krishna’s teaching is:

1. Whatever you think throughout your life will be your thought at the time of death. 2. Whatever is the state of mind at the time of death will be the atmosphere you will get in the rebirth. For example, if your state of mind is in cruelty at the time of death, you will be born in a cruel family. 3. If you are relaxed, thinking of God or chanting AUM at the time of death, there are chances your soul will be liberated. 4. Fire, illumination, daytime, fortnight before full moon and Uttarayana are the paths for liberation. It means these are the periods/ways for spontaneous positive thinking.

From mental health point of view, this knowledge can be converted into medical prescription.Uttarayana means satwik healthy state of mind and dakshinayana means a depressed state of mind. Performing and attending to Yagna, sitting in well–illuminated light or exposing oneself to sunlight during the day can be an adjunct to depression treatment. During the first fortnight of full moon and during Uttarayana, psychotherapy and counseling invariably will work better and the requirement of drugs may get reduced.

Uttarayana is also the period for ‘Snana’ (bath), ‘Daan’ (charity), ‘Dhyana’ (concentration), ‘Upwas’ (detoxification) and ‘Sun worship’ (Sunbath).

Snana means cleansing of the body, mind and the soul and combined with fast or ‘upwas’ and sun bath is the procedure for detoxification. Once the body is detoxified, it’s in a positive state of mind, can concentrate better and gets detached to material things. One should also start donating in charity whatever one has in excess.

Uttarayana can also be described in chakra language. From mooladhara chakra to anahata chakra is the Dakshinayana path; the Uttarayana path is from anahata chakra to ajna chakra. Those who travel on the Uttarayana path travel from anahata chakra. Those who travel on the Dakshinayana path start from mooladhara.

The Chatur Mas (Four holy months) in Hinduism falls during the period of Dakshinayana. Chaturmas begins on July 11 and ends on November 6. It begins on the Ekadashi day in Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashada and ends on the Ekadashi in the Shukla Paksha in the month of Kartik. It occurs during monsoon season and most important festivals take place during this period. It’s a four–month period for observing fast, rituals, pujas and festivals.

Chaturmas has following months: 1. 1st month ‘Shravan’ is dedicated to Lord Shiva, especially the Mondays. It is a month of Vata or air imbalance. The classical song "Savan ka mahina Pawan kare shor" explains the air imbalance in this month. The vata function in the mind is related to emotional imbalance. 2. 2nd ‘Bhadrapad’ is the month of festivals including Ganesh Chaturthi and Janmashtami. The month is again related to Vata or air imbalance. The classical Bollywood song "tere naina savan bhado phir bhi mera man payasa" illustrates the state of the mind in savan and bhado months. The state of the mind is negative with chances of more non fulfillment of desires. 3. 3rd month ‘Ashwin’ includes the festivals of Durga Puja, Navratri, Diwali etc. 4. 4th month ‘Kartik’; Diwali celebrations end in this month.

There is a saying ‘Avoid green leafy vegetables in Shravan month, Curd in Bhadrapad, milk in Ashwin and pulses (split) in Kartik month.’

No marriages or important functions take place in chaturmas for many reasons

1. Firstly it is a period of negative state of mind and hence more chances of divorce 2. For the same reason more chances of infertility 3. Due to rainy seasons more chances of worms on the surface and infesting the leafy vegetables 4. Due to Vata (movement) predominance, leafy vegetables will not be health friendly 5. Many people avoid garlic and onion as it can stimulate unnecessary excitements, cause indigestion and distract devotee from pujas and prayers.(Thanks- emedinews)